Teaching EFL Listening via FUN WITH ENGLISH Books/7B/Lesson 6

Lesson Plan
0) Before Class Starts
 * Ask everyone to get into their seats.
 * Walk around the room small talking with different students.
 * Get the computer turned on if it works.

1) Greeting: Yo! What's up?
 * Practice the "What's up?" routine.
 * If they don't remember, review.

2) Opening Discussion: Tomb Sweeping Day
 * Why did you have a holiday yesterday?
 * What did you do yesterday?

3) Textbook: Page 18 Let's get ready

4) Textbook: Page 20 Let's listen 2

5) Hand Back their Tests

'''Extra Time: Number of Letters? Game''' (Mr. Brown)
 * Make two teams.
 * Tell them to make a word that begins with one letter, e.g. D, and has 6 letters.
 * Go back and forth between the teams making the words.

6 Apr 2010 G7 C3 Review

 * Only a few of them remembered "Yo. What's up?" so I reveiewed it again. As soon as I put it on the blackboard, most of them remembered it all.
 * Got more of a discussiong going about Tomb Sweepind Day than I expected. Started by having them explain it to me and then talking about whether or not they, themselves like the day.
 * Textbook page 18 was fine, especially Part B - I'd call on individual students and ask them what was their "number 1" or "number 8" and so on, then follow up questions.
 * Handing the tests back went really quick, I was quite shocked. Wrote the correct answers on the board, and that was enough for all of them.
 * Told them if they had any questions they could ask me after class - I was surprised that no one came to ask.
 * Asked what game they wanted to play for the last 8 minutes, and one of them requested the "spell on the board" game, so that's what we did.

What Could I have Done Better?
 * Had a powerpoint ready to explain the test answers, instead of wasting time writing them on the board.

What Did I Do Well?
 * Got every student in the class involved at one point or another.
 * Created an environment that allowed a lot of students to stand up and volunteer unafraid of making mistakes.

What Did I Learn?
 * That handing the test back can go quite quickly.

What Did The Students Get Out of The Lesson?
 * Oral/Aural English practice.

Next Week?
 * Still haven't given this class the Hawaiian candy.
 * Do something or other on American/Western culture for them.
 * One student asked for my QQ number.

7 Apr 2010 G7 C11 Review

 * Kids did not want to talk about Tomb Sweeping day.
 * They did; however, have lots of questions for me.
 * I forgot to bring their tests, which was unfortunate.
 * Adjusted, instead played Mr. Brown's new game which got the students excited.

What Could I have Done Better?
 * Brought their tests, a very preventable mistake.

What Did I Do Well?
 * Admitting and accepting I made a mistake, then moved on.

What Did I Learn?
 * When I make mistakes, acknowledging them can work.

What Did The Students Get Out of The Lesson?
 * Oral/Aural practice.

Next Week?
 * Hand back their tests.
 * Prepare something fun/interesting for them.

7 Apr 2010 G7 C10 Review

 * Kids were really engaged and eager from the beginning. Had the best discussion about the holiday I've had so far, by a sizable margin.
 * Asking a lot of questions following the textbook activity about what they've done is an easy way for kids to key in.
 * Going over the test before I hand them back helps comprehension.
 * These kids are just about as close as you could get to going over the edge in terms of energy. A little much, but most of them are actively involved.

What Could I have Done Better?
 * Present the test results in an easier to understand way.

What Did I Do Well?
 * Following them where they led, we really spent the majority of the period talking and I believe every student spoke.

What Did I Learn?
 * I can work really well with this class.

What Did The Students Get Out of The Lesson?
 * Lots of English oral/aural practice, all of them spoke.

Next Week?
 * Try something adventorous with them. Their English and enthusiasm are high enough, and they seem to trust me.
 * One of the tests I had belonged to a student who was in Mr. Brown's class, not mine.

8 Apr 2010 Grade 7 Class 8
Next Week?
 * I have one extra test, make sure I get it to that student.

9 Apr 2010 Grade 7 Class 7

 * A friend who teachers at the local college came to observe my class.
 * At the start had all the students say hello, and asked if it'd be OK for him to watch. They said yes.
 * After I got through the opening conversation, I invited him to the front to answer any questions they had. They were shy at first, but once a couple of students started speaking, they all got excited and talked for a long time.
 * Didn't do any textbook activities, but I felt their one time chance to speak with him was better.
 * Of course, they asked for his QQ number, so it probably will not be the only time they speak with him!

9 Apr 2010 Grade 7 Class 9

 * Discussed Qing Ming festival for some time.
 * They are a lot of fun.
 * Group of boys sitting on the right [left?] can be a distraction. Instead of seperating them, I'd like to find a way to grab their attention.
 * Called on one girl whom I'd never noticed before in the front row. She was very slow to respond, but I was patient. I gave her some things to say, but she refused them still thinking. Eventually she came up with her own response to my question.

9 Apr 2010 Grade 7 Class 9

 * Was really bored of Version 0.11, so I experimented.
 * When I said "Yo!" to start class, I got a very enthusiastic response.
 * Spent the first 35 minutes of a lesson discussing their recent school trip, and then planning a new one. Activity got them excited and a lot of them speaking/thinking in English.
 * Sort of along the lines of Problem Based Learning.
 * Didn't do any textbook.